Self-referenced frequency comb measurement by using a polarization line-by-line pulse shaper

Abstract

A polarization line-by-line pulse shaper is used for generation and noniterative spectral phase retrieval of optical arbitrary waveforms (OAWs) spanning over the entire repetition period. The method is completely reference-free, making it particularly attractive in measuring high repetition-rate OAW.

All-optical self-referencing measurement of vectorial optical arbitrary waveform

“…The single-source and nearly common-path configuration ensured stable τ xy and θ though the carrier-envelope phase of the PMCW comb was unlocked. In the measurement of φ x (ω) by DQ-SSI, two probe lines spaced by 20 GHz were generated in the y-polarization [15]. The shaper output was sent to a 2-mm-thick Type II BBO for SFG, recorded by a high-resolution spectrograph and an intensified CCD camera (Fig.…”

“…The overall spectral phase of the y-polarization, φ y,tot (ω), is φ y (ω) + τ xy ω + θ. The first step in VECTOR is measuring φ x (ω) by the OAW-compatible orthogonally probed DQ-SSI [15]. Secondly, all the remaining parameters are measured by a WPP [22].…”

“…However, the required optical or RF reference could be unavailable especially when the OAW comes from a Kerr frequency comb of large (>100 GHz) mode spacing [14]. This restriction was recently overcome by orthogonally probed dual quadrature spectral shearing interferometry (DQ-SSI) [15], where the reference probe field was produced by shaping the signal OAW itself.…”

“…In this paper, we report the Vectorial E-field Characterization Through all-Optical and self-Referenced (VECTOR) method that can synthesize and analytically characterize V-OAW without any external reference or ambiguity for the first time (to the best of our knowledge). It consists of one scalar OAW measurement by orthogonally probed DQ-SSI [15] and one SOP spectrum measurement by a wavelength-parallel polarimeter (WPP) [22]. The selfreferenced, nearly common-path, all-optical configuration makes it robust against interferometric perturbations and compatible with Kerr frequency combs of large mode spacing.…”